Concert in the Park continues to top the charts

TALENTED TROUPE: The Billy Harpin Band, which includes life-long friends Billy Harpin (left), Amanda Loffredo and Arthur DelFino, will help the Johnston Community Center Association close out its 2017 Concerts in the Park Series this Sunday night beginning at 6 o’clock.

(Submitted photo)

Posted
Thursday, August 10, 2017 10:00 am

By Pete Fontaine

The company you keep, as the old saying goes, says a lot about a person’s personality.

If that’s the case, The Billy Harpin Band –composed of three life-long friends from Foster and Glocester – finds itself in some select company even though the talented trio has only been performing together since 2015.

The band was chosen out of 50 contestants to perform at the annual East Greenwich Summer’s End concert that’s scheduled for Friday evening, Sept. 1, and expected to draw several thousand people to Eldredge Field where the night’s feature will be the Rhode Island Philharmonic Orchestra.

“We are coming off a live performance on GoLocal Providence with Molly O’Brien,” Billy Harpin, the band’s leader, told the Sun Rise Monday. “In addition to our gigging schedule, the band is honored to be associated with the Rhode Island Fire Chiefs Honor Flight Program.”

The band also prides itself in helping the Dare to Dream Ranch, a non-profit dedicated to helping veterans with PTSD and, as Harpin said, “Giving back to these heroes through our music is an extremely gratifying experience.”

This Sunday night, The Billy Harpin Band will perform live on stage inside Johnston War Memorial Park during the Community Center Association’s final Concert in the Park of 2017.

“We are really looking forward to seeing – and hearing – The Billy Harpin Band this Sunday (Aug. 13),” said Glenn Carroll, the JCCA president. “They’re coming here on the recommendation of a member’s grandfather and other people who have heard them play at other locations.”

That band member is Amanda Loffredo, also of Glocester, whose grandparents Richard and Carol Loffredo are long-time residents of Johnston. The band’s third member is Arthur DelFino.

“We’re looking to break into the local music scene with our harmonies, original music and broad range of classics spanning from rock to current hits,” Harpin explained. “We have a large library of covers and original music and we aim to suit almost anyone’s musical tastes.”

Carroll and JCCA Vice President Mark Gilmore said, “The band has produced quite the resume in a short period of time. Sunday’s concert should be special and we’re hoping that the largest crowd of the season turns out to support this band that will make its first appearance ever in Johnston.”

The Concert, like other events, is dependent upon weather and will run from 6 to 8 p.m. Carroll said, “All you have to do is bring a chair or blanket and cooler if you want snacks, we offer the music free and enjoy giving back to the community by way of these Concerts in the Park.”

As for the band’s future dates, The Billy Harpin Band has been invited to perform at the Johnston Apple Festival, Scituate Art Festival and annual Flood Fest in Foster.

“Which is,” as Carroll said, “yet another example of the classy company this band keeps.”